Tunnel boring machine having torsion counteracting means



Feb. 16, 1960 Filed July 12, 1957 s. ROBB 2,925,258

J INS TUNNEL BORING MACHINE HAVING TORSION COUNTERACTING MEANS 4Sheets-Sheet 1 a INVENTOR.

JAMES S. ROBBINS I BY 4 y ATTORNEY Filed July 12, 1957 TUNNEL BORI J. 5.RO

NG MACHINE HAVING TORSION BBINS COUNTERACTING MEANS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 3 NI I F1- Q m m a!) g s s g 2 t9 .N m N N Q pl INVENTOR.

.1 JAMES s. ROBBINS y q W J. S. ROBBINS TUNNEL BORING MACHINE HAVINGTORSION COUNTERACTING MEANS Feb. 16, 1960 4 Sheets- Sheet 5 Filed July12, 1957 INVENTOR. JAMES S. ROBBINS AT TO R N EY Feb. 16, 1960 Y I J. s.ROBBINS 2,925,258

TUNNEL BORING MACHINE HAVING TORSION COUNTERACTING MEANS I Filed July12, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

JAMES s. ROBBINS I 2 4, $2 814 ATTORNEY Q BY TUNNEL BORING MACHINEHAVING TORSION; I

COUNTERACTING MEANS James S. Robbins, St. Paul, Minn, assignor t0Goodman Nflaliliuulliacturing Company, Chicago, 111.; a corporation 0 ms1 Al'ctionJllZl.

pp a u y No 7 Tend of the tubular bearing support 38 in longitudinallyspaced relation, and have a forwardly projecting annular 4 Claims.cram-4 -This invention relates toirnprovements in tunnel borl6 mounte'din circumferential -spaced relation in theforwardmost plate 113 so astoprovide rolling support for" ing machines having a rotary cutter headespecially adapted for boring directly in relatively hard: minerals",and more particularly to tunnel boring. machines of the kind disclosedin my copending application bearing Serial No. 671,258, filed July 11,1957, and has for its prin'cipal object to provide a more eflicientmachine of this character. v V

A further object of the invention is to provide'improved means foranchoring the main frame of themachine against .the tunnel wallsso as tocounteract the torsion 'of the rotary cutter head and aid in 'restoring'the mainframe to its proper upright position when it gets outofproper angular relation to the tunnel-bore A .fstill further object ofthe invention-is to provide improved=means associated with the anchoringhieans- Q for varying the direction of advance of themachine 'duringitstunneling operationg i j :Otherobjects and advantages of the inventionwill appear fromtime to time as the following description' proceeds.

The invention 'may best 'be understood by reference to theaccompanying-drawings, in which: Figuresl is a top view of amachine-madein accord 4 ance withmy invention,. with parts brokenjawa'yor Figure 4'is a section taken generally along 1ine' of'Figure 1. l .Referring nowtodetailsof the embodiment of th'ef invention shownin the, drawings, themachine hasas its'f" principal elements amain frame ll having arotatablecutter head at its forward endindicatedge'nerally at1 2; The cutter head12 includes a central-disc 13; having a'front wa1l 14, and" a rear-'wall15, and alsohaving a plurality, herein 'four, cutter arms 22'extendingradially "The main frame 11' ;;drive shaft 16, as by a vI splined'connection 44.

, 2 Eachof 'the' radially extending cutter arms 22-carrica'materialgathering' bucket 27 on its rear face. The

leading sides of the-buckets 27 are open to enable them to scoop up theloose material which drops to the floor of the tunnel as it is removedfrom the working face.

The main frame 11 includes a longitudinally elongated tubular bearingsupport 38 having bearings 39, and 40' fixed in its 'front and rear endsin whichthe' drive shaft 16 for the cutter head 12'is journalled; Twogenerally upright annular plates 112 and 113 are fixed'to the frontportion -30 formed integrally therewith, about which-- buckets 27 on-thearms 22 are adapted to'rotate, as see nf in Figure 2. A'plurality-ofbearing rollers 114 are the rear-face ofthe inner wall 15 of the "cutterhead 12.

As each bucket 27 isrotated to a position at the top of the "cutterhead, the loose material therein fallsby "gravity through a bucketoutlet opening 28, thence through a registering chute 29 formed in theannular 7 forwardly projecting portion 30 of the main frame 11,

"and on to the front end of an endless belt conveyor 31 trained over anidler 310the front end of which is dis supported along the top of themain frame ll, asby, up

rights 101, with its rear end extending beyond said mainframe 'fo'rdischarging material upon any suitable con= f Any'suitable means :may beprovided fordrivin'g the endless belt'con'veyor, as by ian-electriemotor32 suspendedffrom the conveyor frame";311- overhanging thef 5 rear end"of themachine, and connectedas by a belt 312 to 'a" gear reductionmechanism 313,' which in turn has I drivingconnections with -a beltpulley 314*for the rear 0 is-disl'odge'd fromtheworlcing face.

pivotally connected on atransverse pin 36*to afdepend arcuate bottom "ofthe tunnel.

enlarged gearw'zase 421s mounted on the rearie'nd I of thetubular'bearing support 38; and encloses the get; ing fordriving a pinion-'43fixed on the rear end 'of t 'In' tlie form shownlherein; the drive shaft16 and i ts ge 43' aredriven'by four simil-ar electric motors 45'; 45,(each F r 5 *tiPatent ed ii eh;

supported on thetn'nnel jfloor just rearwardly'o'f" thecutter head 12 bya shoe-357 cutter .bits 26. -The general arrangement of; the ikerf 12,766,978 need not be further shown-no from the periphery of saidcentral disc. *The rear anmounted on and eiitendingrearwardlyfromthe'i-ear face a 15 of the central disc 13 is fixed. tothe frontend of a} of -'tlie'gear case 42, andfh'aving its-motor shaft46'extend main drive shaft 16,,as by a splinedjoint 17. -The front qtinginto the-gear case; witha pinion -47 thereon meshed wall 14 has aplurality or cutter bits 18, 18 projecting with-the gear 43 on the drive'shaft 16. Suitableelectrical forwardly therefrom; and :also has aplurality of core connections and controls (not shown) are provided fbreaking rollers '19-, 19 carried thereon in position 'to driving thefoufrhotors' 45 in unison to rotate'thecut'ter break down cores leftbetween adjacent cutter bits 18 ,'.-18...-' head 12." i? 3 Thefrontfaces of the radially extendingcutter; arm's The ma'chine haslaterallyextending' supporting means? a 22, 22 are3in substantially thesamevertical plane asthe?" foreng'agin'g the side wars-or a'tunnehwhichincludes front plate 14 of the central disc; 13, and eachicarriesa Icross :arni;indicated generally at 50-. Said cross arni l'ias- 1seriesof kerf cutting bits ,23 and a plurality Of-1001B. anannular'bearing'portion 51 at its center-which ;sur.-: breaking rollers24 generallysimilar to those on the'fronti rounds the tubular bearingsupport 38'of the main frame. face of said central disc; .In the centerofzthe discv 131'isq The twoopposite ends 52,52 .of said crossarmhave-lat a pilot burster member 25carryingforwardly'projectingerallyJn'ovable arcuate shoes 53; 53?adapted foriierigagement-f with thejside walls of the tunnel, as seeninfiguresx; 1 and 4.], Each of the-shoes 53 is pivotal-1y connected 1b.a longitudinallydisposed rpinj54 to. a ,pistoni rodsfinof hydraulic@YlindetrSS. .The inner; end of thecTy-linderissw t n bit a re reak n rle s ju t desc ib d, is: essentially the same as; disclosed in myep'rior,PatenLNor 'dqs rilzestn.

herein.

7 is connected to a brackets-1 fixed in the arm 52. 'Each' f i cylinderand piston are enclosed in a cylindrical member 58 which istelescopically movable relative to the outer The hydraulic cylinders 55have suitable controls and connections (not shown) for extending orretracting their pistons 56 either simultaneously or individually, forpurposes which will presently be described.

.The annular central bearing portion 51 of the cross arm 50 is slidablymounted on the tubular bearing support 38 of the main frame 11 by amodified ball-and-sockct joint, herein consisting of an annular ring 60slidable along the tubular support 38, and with its peripheral surfaceformed with a circular, convex cross section, as shown in Figure 2. Theinner periphery of the annular portion 51 has a reversely shaped concavering 62 mounted therein and engaged on the outer face of the ring 60 onthe tubular support 38. With this arrangement, limited rocking movementis afforded between the cross arm 50 and the main frame 1 1 to permitlimited deviations in the direction of advance of the cutter head, aswill presently be described.

The inner periphery of the annular portion 51 is preferably providedwith a pair of annular recesses 63, 63 at opposite sides of theball-and-socket joint, just described, adapted to contain suitableflexible sealing means around the tubular support to protect theball-and-socket joint from ingress of dirt and the like.

The main frame 11 and the cutter head 12 are advanced as a wholerelative to the cross arm 50 by means of a pair of hydraulic cylinders48, the rear ends of which are pivotally connected to transverselydisposed pins 481 fixed in rearwardly extending projections 482 carriedby the cross arm 50 at opposite sides ofand adjacent the tubular support38 of the main frame 11 (see Figure 1). Each of the hydraulic cylinders48 has a piston rod 49 at its front end which is pivotally connected bya pin 491 to the upright plate 112 of the main frame 11. With thisarrangement, the cross arm 50 is adapted to be anchored in the tunnel byextending the shoes 53, 53 into engage ment with the side walls and withthe piston rods 49 of cylinders 48 in retracted position. Thereafter, byapplying fluid pressure to the rear ends of the cylinders 48, themainframe 11 and cutter head 12 are advanced bodily toward the workingface, while the cross arm 50 remains stationary. During such advancingmovement, the tubular support 38 of the main frame 11 passes through thecentral annular portion 51 of said cross arm.

Each end member 52 of the cross arm 50 has a depending guide plate 41pivotally connectedby pin 410 adjacent the leg 37 of the main frame. Thetwo guide members have lateral sliding engagement with the adjacent sideface 371 of said depending leg 37, as seenin Figure 4. The lower end ofeach guide plate has an upwardly and outwardly inclined strut 41-1 withahydraulic cylinder 413 pivoted thereto at 412, and a piston rod 414 insaid cylinder pivotally connected as by pm 415 to an car 416 on theunder face of the adjacent end portion 52' near its outer end. Thepurpose of these guide members wardly slotted clamps 68 fixed to thelatter. This slotted connection permits the annular ring portion 67 toshift itself radially of the body portion 66, as may be required fromtime to time to adjust said ring to the tunnel walls. An auxiliarysupporting shoe 69 is connected to the bottom edge of the annular ring67 (see Figure 2) in position so that the bottom edge of the floatingring portion 67 will normally rest on the tunnel floor to prevent theloose 1 material which is deposited on said tunnel floor in front gthebeam 70.

41 and the diagonally disposed struts 411 will be presently described.

Between the cutter head 22 and the cross arm 50 is mounted an annularshield 65, the outer periphery of which is of substantially the samediameter as the cutting diameter of the cutter head 12. This shield issuitably supported on the main framell as by bolts 651 (see Figure 2).This shield is provided to crowd the material deposited on the floor ofthe tunnel into position for loading into the buckets 27, and also toconfine the dust produced during the cutting operation to the areaadjacent the working face. In the form shown herein, the shield consistsof a central'body portion 66 with a floating annular extension 67 whichis slidably mounted about the periphery of said body portion 66 by aplurality of-outrest on the tunnel floor.

of said shield from escaping rearwardly of the shield 65.

As will be seen from Figures 1 and 2, the main frame 11 has a rearwardlyextending beam 70 passing below the gear case 42 and having a supportingshoe 71 adapted to Said rear supporting shoe 71 is vertically adjustablerelative to the main frame by a hydraulic cylinder 76 pivotallyconnected at its upper end to a longitudinally extending pin 77pivotally connected in a cylindrical casing 78 depending from the rearend of Hydraulic cylinder 76 also has a piston rod 79 pivotallyconnected at its lower end by pin 80 connected to the upper face of theshoe 71. The shoe 71 also has an upstanding cylindrical member 81telescopically mounted on a depending cylindrical member 78 rigid withthe beam 70 so as to guide the shoe for vertical adjustment, and also toenclose the hydraulic cylinder and its associated parts, and protectthem from ingress of'dirt or the like.

The beam 70 has a cross bar 72 which is mounted on an upright standard73 at its rear end. Said cross bar has extensible supporting shoes 74,74 at each end thereof, which are adapted to engage the side walls ofthe tunnel midway between the roof and floor, for slidably supportingthe rear end of the main frame 11 as the machine is advanced orretracted in the tunnel.

Each end of the rear cross bar 72 has a hydraulic cylinder 85 with itsinner end fixed in said cross bar, and a piston rod 86 pivotallyconnected by a horizontally disposed pin 87 to the base of the adjacentshoe 74, as seen in Figure 1. Each shoe 74 also has an inwardlyextending cylindrical portion 88 telescopically adjustable on the outerend of the cross arm 72 so as to guide the shoe for horizontaladjustment, and also to enclose the hydraulic cylinder 85 and itsassociated parts to protect themfrom ingress of dirt and the like.

Suitable pressure supply means and controls (not shown) are provided forthe hydraulic cylinders 76 and 85. The controls for the cylinders 85 onopposite ends of the cross bar 72 are such as to actuate the piston rods86 in either direction, either simultaneously or independently of eachother, so as to cooperate in slidably supporting the rear end of themain frame 10 in centered position in the tunnel, or, when desired, toaid in effecting limited lateral steering movement of the machine as awhole to varying conditions, as will presently be described.

A roof support indicated generally at 90 consists of a plate 91 curvedto fit against the roof at the tunnel,

and connected to a longitudinal frame member 92 on the main frame 11 bytwo pairs of parallel links 93, 93.

Vertical adjustment of said roof support is elfected by the two shoes53, 53 at opposite ends of said cross arm are forced into anchoringrelation against the side walls of the tunnel, with the cross arm in aposition near the front end of the tubular member 38 on the main frame,as seen in Figures 1- and 2. Hydraulic pressure is then exerted on thetwo forwardly extending'hydraulic cylinders 48 to feed the cutter headand main frame forwardly toward the working face with the cutter headrotating.

During this feeding movement the cross arm 50 will =.andsocket joint 60,62,?

sass-ass remain in its initial anchored''position until the; main,

frame has been advanced relativ'eto the cross arnithrough a distancecorresponding, to the working stroke of the piston rods 49 of feedingcylinders48. The. front shoe 35 and the rear shoe 71 slide forwardlyalong the tunnel floor during the feeding movement. The speed of feed iscontrolled by the operator depending uponthe kind of mineral being cut.

,When the feed piston rods 49 have reached the forward end oftheirnormal stroke, the advance of the machine frame is temporarilydiscontinued and the side shoes 53 on the cross arm 50 arewith drawnfrom anchoring engagement with the side walls of the tunnel. The pistonrods 49 a re then retracted to slide the cross forwardly on the tubularmember 381to its initialfeeding position relative to the frame, as shownin Figures 1 and 2. The anchoring shoes are then extended so as toanchor the cross arm 50 in anew, advanced position, whereupon thefeeding movement of the main frame'and cutter head can be resumed byagain applying pressure to the rear ends of the feeding cylinders 48.

When it is desired to change the direction of advance of'the cutter headin the tunnel either at an" increased or decreased vertical angle orgradient; the rear shoe 71 is vertically extended or retracted in theproper direction cross arm 50 isanchored-toI lthei sid e :vvallsiejandthemachine is being fed forwardly, sinces'aidcross arm is 'The' advanceof the machine can alsobe ldeviated slidably mounted on the tubularmemljen38 by the' balltion, as .may be necessary fromtime to time, theanchormg shoes 53 on thelcross arm are withdrawn from the so that themachine as a. m a counterclockwise direction.

"To restore the main frame to its normal; upright posiside wallsfof thextuhnel and the hydraulic cylinders of the twostru ts which connect theopposite ends of the cross arm to the depending guide plates 41 areactuated in mutually opposite directions so as to restore the cross arm50 to its normal horizontal position. The required change in anglebetween the ends of the cross arm and the guide plates 41 is permittedby the pivotal mountings of said guide. plates on the main frame. Theanchoring 7 shoes 53. are'then reengaged in anchoring position againstby the hydraulic cylinder 76. ,Such extension or retraction of the shoe71 will cause the main frame to'tilt about the pivot pin 36 connectedetothe front supporting" defined bygtherappended-claims.

two different methods, working either independently or opposite ends ofthe cross arm 72 at the rear end of the machine, by extending one'ofsaid shoes. while simultaneously retracting the other shoe. The entiremachine can be steered to a limited degree toward one side or the otherduring its feeding movement, with the cross arm 50 at the front endofthe machine in anchored relation with the'side walls. f 7 Lateralsteering movement of the main framef and;v

Q. 2 ;-.;In[a' tunneling head'journalled thereon for cutting a bore inadvance of 35 the machine, said frame/having slidablefloorsupportinglaterally toward one side or the other of the tunnelby the sidewalls ofthe tunnel and the hydraulic cylinders 413 are actuated in mutuallyreversed directions so as to rotate or tilt the main frame in aclockwise direction until it is restored to its normal upright positionin the tunnel, atright angles to the normal horizontal position of thecross arm 50. The two hydraulic cylinders 413 will then be maintainedunder balanced pressures while -the machine is in operation so as tomaintain the cross arm. and the depending leg 37 on the main frame inright-angled relation to each other-until such time as they may again beused to restore themain frame to its normal upright position. 1 1

Although I have'shown and describeda certain embodiment of my invention,it will be understood that various changessand modifications may bemaclewithout departing-from the spirit and scope of the invention as ,Iiclaimz' V I machine, a frame having a rotary means, and. anchoring meansslidably and pivotally mounted thereon for adjustment about an axisextendinglongitudinallY thereof and extending from opposite sides ofsaid frame and having extensible and retractible shoes at the outer endsthereof adapted for anchoring engagement with theside walls of thetunnel, power means conpivotally'connected thereto and normallyextending'at an intermediate angle for longitudinal sliding movementcutter head can also be effected-by extending one of the shoes 53 on thecross arm 50 while the opposite shoe 5;

. is retracted. Since the shoes 74 on-the rearcross arm: 72 arenormallyislidable along the tunnel'wallsduring the advance feedingmovement of. the machinesaid last named shoes 74, 74 will not interferewith the steering movement effected through the front anchoring shoes53.

It will be further noted that, if desired, both" the rear along saidframe, and extensible and retractable strut 'meansconnecting' saidpivoted guide means with said.

anchoring means ,for varying the'angle between .said ancho'ringmeans andsaid pivoted guide means upon release'of said anchoring means from thewall of the tune Jnel, and adjusting said frame relative to saidanchoring means into ahorizontal position upon engagement of.

sliding shoes 74, 74 and the frontancho ring shoes 53, 53

can be operated simultaneously to effect lateralsteering of the cutterhead. i

The roof supporting plate roof of the tunnel when fault zones,,oriwe'akor broken roof areas are encountered while the machine is beingadvanced. It may also be used in lowered position as a working platformfrom which a permanent roof support can be erected for such weakareasporused as a platform for other tunneling operations adjacent theroof. 7 I

91 adapted to into elevated position in'qsliding engagement with the Dueto the torque reaction from thecutter head as it rotates in a clockwisedirection, as indicated in. the drawings,'the entire mainframe will tendto tilt or turn in the opposite or counterclockwise directionabout theaxis of rotation of the cutter head. a v 4 It has been found in prac'ce, that this torque reaction may be enough to cause the several shoes35, 53,71 and 74 to creep circumferentially of the tunnel walls,

said anchoring means with thewall of the tunnel. 2.' In 'a tunnelingmachine, a frame having a rotary boring head journalled thereon forrotation about a longitudinal axis for cutting a bore in advance of thejmachine, slidable floor supporting means supporting said frame forslidable movement along the tunnel floor, .an'

anchoring member extending transversely ofsaid frame and slidably andpivotally mounted thereon for movement about an axis coaxial with theaxis of rotation of said boring head, extensible and retractable shoesat the spaced relation with respect to the pivotal axis. of saidanchoring member, and having operative connection with opposite outerend portions of said anchoringv member,

' andoperable to vary the angle 'of saidan'choringmember I with respectto said-frame uponfrelease of said'shoes fromthe tunnel wall, andto'bring said frame into a hori whole will sl er Q 7 zontal positionupon engagement of said shoes with the tunnel wall.

,3. The structure of claim 2, wherein laterally spaced guide members arepivotally connected to said anchoring member and depend therefrom andhave slidabl engagement with said frame in spaced relation with respectto the pivotal axis of said anchoring member and along opposite sideportions of said frame, and wherein the strut means are connectedbetween the lower end portions of said guide members and opposite outerend portions of said anchoring member.

4. The structure of claim 3, wherein the frame has a beam extendinglongitudinally therealong and forming a slidable support therefor andwherein the guide members slidably engage opposite sides of said beamand the extensible and retractable strut means connected between saidguide members and said anchoring member react against saidnbeam andanchoring member to bring .said frame into a horizontal position uponthe anchoring of said shoes with the side wall of the tunnel.

' References Cited in the file ofthis patent UNETED STATES PATENTS1,353,908 Hodgson -2 Sept. 28,

1,645,007 Johansen Oct. 11, 1927 2,384,397 Ramsay Sept.- 4, 1945 r2,756,036 McIntyre July 24, 1956 2,756,037 Kirkpatrick July 24, 19562,760,766 Mayo Aug. 28, 1956 2,765,154 Wilms Oct. 2, 1956 2,816,747 BallDec. 17, 1957 2,837,325 Biedess June 3, 1958 2,846,600 Kirkpatrick Dec.16, 1958

